Feminist magazine has online rebirth
Feminist magazine Rant is making a comeback, with the new, revamped version set to launch online on June 27.
Rant creator Faith Thurnwald is working on the final touches and creating content for Rant’s website while finishing her last semester at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Miss Thurnwald, 23, will graduate from her Bachelor of Arts degree with an English literature major and sociology minor and says that her studies have influenced her new ideas for Rant.
“I think my writing has definitely changed a lot after uni, and after having sociology and English literature under my belt that its taken a more academic stance,” Miss Thurnwald said.
Miss Thurnwald created the first and only print edition of Rant in 2015 for her year 12 project at Noosa Pengari Steiner School.
“I had to do a year-long project and create an artefact. My passion at the time was photography and writing so I kind of blended them together and that turned into Rant: a feminist magazine,” Miss Thurnwald said.
Miss Thurnwald said the online version will allow for more content variety from different contributors and that readers can expect artist profiles, poetry and photography, as well as academic and personal essays drawing from political theory and philosophy.
“Because its an online platform I think that changes the dynamic of it, so I want it to be a platform for artists, not just exclusively a magazine on feminism.”
According to the most recent Roy Morgan Readership Report about 15.6 million Australians regularly read magazines in print and online.
While print has declined due to the digitalisation of the media, surveys show that readership of digital magazines has been increasing.
Miss Thurnwald said that it will be Rant’s particular genre and content that will attract its readers.
“I think because of apps like TikTok and what not, the attention span of the average social media user is decreasing so it’s definitely a niche market that I have to cater to.”
Miss Thurnwald said she had always been a feminist.
“I believe in equality of the sexes and that’s all it is really,” she said.
“So I just think, why wouldn’t you be a feminist?”